Humidifier



y ,Alfil 1,4, 1942. l`R. w. BULKLEY 2,279,966

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omo QU omo 0H.. QU 9U INVNTOR. 37 Peg/ham M/ a/k/ey g B f f l fom/fx Patented Apr. 14, 1942 Reginald w'. Bulkley, Kansas city, Mo.

Application March 1, 1941, Serial No. 381,407

3 Claims.

My invention relatesto humidiiiers and more particularly to'humidiers adapted to be used in connection with air conditioning systems;

In many parts of the country, the water supply for use in humidifiers contains many inorganic salts. These waters are said to be .hard-.'

When they are employed with the usualdevices for flowing water over a gas and liquid ,contact apparatus, alternate stopping and starting of the water supply results in accumulations which soon clog' up the spray openings. This isv due largely to evaporation of the lm of water left from the blower casing I3 through' duct vl4"to l the spaces to which the conditioned airis being supplied. v'lilie'sides of spray pan 9 are-provided on the spray, after the water supply has been shut off. This film o! water is evaporated and layer after -layer 4of salts are deposited, which soon clog up the spray. l

One object of my invention is to provide a novel humidier which maybe used with'hard waters and in which deposits clogging spray openings will be minimized.

Another object of my invention is to provide a humidifier for air conditioning apparatus, which may be used for long periods of time without the necessity of cleaningvthe spray openings.

Other and further objects of my invention will appearfrom-the following description.

In the accompanying drawing which forms part of the instant specification and are to be read in conjunction therewith and in which llike reference numerals are .used to indicate like parts in the various views:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic sectional view of a humidifier and air conditioner.

Figure 2 is asectional view, taken on the line 2-2 of Figurel. I

' 4Figure 3 is a diagrammatic vievi1 showing the electrical connections employed in my invention.

Referring now to the drawing, a casing I which may be insulated by insulation 2, houses a motorn 3 which drives a blower fan 4. The blower fan I vis ladapted to impel air from the atmosphere through a nlter 3 and. draw it over a heat exchanger coil i, vto vwhich either a refrigerant or a heating medium may be supplied.' 'I'he cooled 'or heated air then passes overa gas and liquid contact apparatus to humidity it. Water from vany suitable supply passes over pipe 1 controlled v by valve] into a spray pan '3. l The spray pan is provided with a plurality of openings III and is adapted to distribute vwater over a wire mesh structure Il giving the 4 water an extended sur- `face. I'he airis 'adapted `to pass through the water beingl sprayed` over the wiremesh- H and be -humidined It 'then passes to thefintake v opening 'i2of lthe blower 4 and is discharged with a plurality of openings i5, permitting water `bottom `23 terminating in a drain spout 24,

adapted to discharge water throughdrain pipe 25 into the drain pan 26 fromV which the water ows through eductionpipe 21 toa collecting means, if desired, for recycling through pipe 1 or for disposal in any suitable manner. A spring 28 is secured to one arm 29 of a bell crank lever. The bell crank lever 29 is formed with a hub member 30 which is secured to the shaft I6 by means of a pin 3|, The other arm 32 of the bell crank lever is connected to an armature 33 adapted to be actuated by a solenoid 34.

Referring now to Figure 3, the primary 35 of the transformer is connected across main line wires 36 and 31. vIt supplies potential to the second- Y ary 38 ofthe transformer. 'I'he .transformer is connected across the winding of the solenoid 34 through a humidostat 39. Normally, the parts are in a position shown in Figure l, that is with the solenoid 34 unenergized and the spring 28 holding the bypass pan 22 underneath the spray pan 9. It will be obvious that all of the waterv being furnished to the spray pan will fall into the bypass pan 22 and ow through its drain spout 24 to the drain pan 26 andv thence out of eduction pipe 21 for recycling or other disposal.v

Due to the fact. that water will continue to flow through the openings in the-spray pan, insumcient evaporation of thefwater will take place to allow deposits to form. 'Iv'here is no film of water which is adapted to dry such as forms in the humidifier of the prior art. The constant flow of water insures the absence of l deposits and *the free flowing of water fromjthe spray pan at' the spray pan to spray over the` wire mes/h il,

, pipe 1.

2,279,966 permitting the air to be humidmed. As soon over an extended surface, a vspray means having small perforations to break up the water into small drops arranged above the spreading means,

stat 39 will move to open the circuit through the winding of a solenoid 3l, thus deenergizing it. This permits the spring 2l to rotate the `bypass pan to-the position shown inFigure 1, stopping the fiow of water over the wire mesh 'gas and liquid contact structure Il, ceasing the humidication of the airuntii it is again required in response to the closing of the circuit through the' humidostat 39.

It will be seen that I have accomplished the objects of my invention. I have provided a humidier for use with an air conditioning 'ap- 'paratus which may be used in terrains where only hard water is available. The humidier will continue to operate over long periods of time I without the necessity of cleaning the spray openings in the water distributing means. If water is costly, it may lbe recycled a number of times by pumping it from eduction pipe 21 to intake If water -is not expensive, it may be passed to a drain opening anddisposed oi.

It will be understood` that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and sub-combinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of my claims. It is further obvious that various changes may be made' in details within the scope of my claims without departing from the spirit of my invention. It is, therefore, to be understood that my invention is not to be limited to the specific details shown an described.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a humidifier, means for spreading water means to continuously pass water through said perforations to prevent evaporation and mineral deposits thereon, a humidostatically controlled bypass normally disposed between the spray and spreading means to prevent evaporation from the spreading means when the humidity is satisied. 2. In a humidifier having means for spreading VWater over an extended surface, an arrangement for controlling the delivery of water to ,the spreading means, comprising a perforated pan adapted to continuously receive water arranged to spray the water on the spreading means, a pivoted interceptor pan normally disposed below the perforated pan to bypass the water discharged therefrom, and means coactive with the interceptor pan and responsive to changes in humidity for pivoting the interceptor pan to a non-intercepting position.

3. In a humidifier having means for spreading water over an extended surface, an arrangement for controlling delivery of water to the spreading means, comprising a perforated pan adapted to continuously receive Water arranged to spray REGINALD W. BUIKLEY. 

